Riddle Me This
by Beledi1113
Summary: Hmmm, so I'm jumping back on the Castle fanfic bandwagon because the synopsis of episode 12 caught my attention. So, if you're SPOILER FREE, don't read this until after the episode airs. I'm pretty sure the writers aren't going to do this. Just thought of some scenes I want to see.
1. Chapt1 Secret Identities

**Riddle Me This**

AN: Hmmm, so I'm jumping back on the Castle fanfic bandwagon because the synopsis of episode 12 caught my attention. So, if you're SPOILER FREE, don't read this until after the episode airs. I'm pretty sure the writers aren't going to do this. Just thought of some scenes I want to see.

Don't own Castle; just playing with the characters.

 **Chapter 1: Secret Identities**

"Hello?" a voice queried into the total darkness with a slight hesitation as if they were unsure they wanted an answer. "Is anyone there?"

A cough responded to the sound, a stirring. "Yeah – yeah, I'm here." The answer was weak, the voice male. "Oh, god, my head," he groaned. "What the hell happened?"

"I'm here, too, but who are you? Where are we?" came another response, this time female, the accent Hispanic, with a slight edge of hysteria.

"Castle – Richard Caste. And I have no idea where we are, but it's going to be okay," he said with conviction. Panicking wouldn't do them any good. "People looking for us – they will find us." He paused. "Anyone else here?"

"Me," came a whispered response somewhere off to his left, another female.

"Yo," came a 4th response from across the room, definitely male, definitely Brooklyn.

"And me," echoed another voice, another female.

"Anyone else?" asked Castle.

There was a long pause.

"I guess that's all then," Castle responded to the darkness.

"What's going on?" asked the Brooklyn accent.

"I don't know," Castle replied as he slowly stood, sliding his hands up the wall he had been seated against. "I think we're in a room – can someone find a light switch?"

He could hear people move about slowly.

"Yeah, found it," said the first male voice.

A click of a switch and the overhead fluorescent lights flickered on, flooding the room in a bright light.

Castle blinked against the light and scanned their surroundings.

The room was fairly large, but sterile, basic white with no furniture, no doors, and no windows.

Castle looked at the other people in the room as they looked at each other warily, and then straightened up and moved to the middle of the room. They needed to keep calm if they were going to get out of here.

"Why don't we start by introducing ourselves?" he said simply. "I'm Richard Castle – author." He paused for a moment. "Everyone knows who they are, don't they?"

They looked at him with puzzled expressions and then nodded.

"Retired seaman Newman Risner," Brooklyn said and turned to the woman on his left.

"Maria Consuela," said the Hispanic woman. "I work from Ables Janitorial Services."

"Brad Collins," said the man to her left. "Pharmaceutical rep for Beckham-Peirpont."

The young woman next to him nodded. "Tanya Fellers. I'm an art student. My parents just moved here—well, to New York."

"Felisha Atwater," said the African-American woman. "I'm an administrative assistant at the Percy law firm."

Risner peered at Castle curiously. "You write those murder mystery books, don't you? And work with the NYPD?"

Castle nodded. "Yeah."

"So what do you think? Why did they do this to us? What do they want?"

"How long have we been here?" asked Maria anxiously. "I have to get home to my son."

Castle automatically looked down at his wrist to look at his watch and found that it was gone. He shook his head. "I don't know how long we've been here, but I think our number 1 priority is getting out of here." He moved along the walls, skimming his hands over each surface. "Since we're in here, there's a hidden door some place." He stopped and looked up. "Maybe in the ceiling..."

He was about to say something else when one of the walls lit up. The people standing near the wall moved away from it.

"Riddle me this as fast as you can," said a metallic voice echoing in the room. "Answer before time runs out, or blackness descends and bad things begin." The voice paused and a green 3:00 appeared on the wall.

"Rail-road crossing, watch out for cars. Can you spell it without any R's?" said the metallic voice as the display changed to 2:59 and then began to count down.

"I-T," Castle replied drily. The display stopped at 2:58.

"What?" asked Collins, looking at Castle in surprise.

"Spell 'it'," Castle said, looking at the man. "We're playing games with a computer."

"Take one out and scratch my head, I am now black but once was red," said the metallic voice. "What am I?" The timer started again.

"Oh, I know – a match," said Collins, snapping his fingers. The timer stopped again.

"I can be cracked, I can be made, I can be told, I can be played. What am I?" The timer started.

The timer neared 2:00 as several wrong answers were guessed until Atwater yelled out, "A joke!"

The timer stopped but this time the display changed to yellow.

"That can't be good," said Fellers, as the metallic voice started again.

"I am the beginning of sorrow, and the end of sickness. You cannot express happiness without me, yet I am in the midst of crosses. I am always in risk, yet never in danger. You may find me in the sun, but I am never seen out of darkness."

They murmured amount themselves as the timer counted down to 0:59 and changed to red.

"S!" Castle finally yelled out. "The letter S."

The voice started again. "I have wood but no bark, leaves that don't fall, I am made up of branches, and I come in sizes of all. I am completely devoured many times, over and over by a worm of a kind. If you desire to know the answer of mine, look for the secret that I've stored inside. What am I?"

"What?" asked Consuela.

"Who makes up these things?" Castle demanded as he wracked his brain trying to think of the answer.

The people in the room froze as the timer hit 0:00 and a loud siren sounded.

The lights went out and a scream rent the air.

After a moment, the lights flickered back on.

Castle slowly turned to look behind him at the blood splattered on the wall.

"Tanya!" exclaimed Atwater. "She's gone!"

"Oh, that's so not good," said Castle, shaking his head.

# # # # # #

Beckett waited until the Police Union rep had left the floor before rounding on Esposito and Ryan to pull information out of them since they were studiously avoiding looking at her after Alexis' visit that morning.

Just after her meeting started, she had seen Alexis rush into the precinct and talk to the boys briefly before rushing out again, clutching her phone to her ear.

"So what's up?" she asked, walking up to their desks. "Why was Alexis here?"

Espo shrugged. "Nothing really," he waffled with a slight shrug.

"She was just looking for Castle," Ryan offered.

"And…?" Beckett continued.

"He had a meeting with a 'client' last night," said Espo, making air quotes when he said 'client.'

"And…?" Beckett prompted.

"And he didn't come home and his phone is off," said Ryan uncomfortably. He glanced at Espo and at his nod, continued, "The client was Mrs. Kazankov," a slight pause, "and we're sure she's …Svetlana." He said the name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"And we weren't going to do Castle's dirty work for him by telling his daughter that he's shacking again," Espo blurted out.

"I'm so sorry, Beckett," said Ryan.

"I see," Beckett said, nodding, looking around to see if anyone had overheard their conversation. She looked back at them. "Gentlemen, if you'll come to my office."

The boys nodded. "Sure."

They walked into her office and she shut the door behind them.

"Listen, Beckett, if you need to vent, we're here for you," said Ryan supportively.

"Yeah, and we'll be glad to hand Castle his nuts the next time we see him," continued Espo.

Beckett nodded and let out a breath. The only way to do this was to rip the band aid off.

"Gentlemen, that won't be necessary, because I'm Svetlana," she said simply. "And Castle wasn't with me last night."

# # # # # # #


	2. Ch 2 Will The Real Svetlana Stand Up?

**Riddle Me This**

AN: So, for those of you reading, this is my version of Castle being kidnapped and having to play games with other people while Beckett, Espo, and Ryan race to save him (synopsis for episode 12). Not quite sure what the writers are going to do with this one, but it has a lot of good possibilities. So glad 3XK is dead (probably – just kidding...)

And thanks for all the reviews, favs, and follows – you are awesome!

As usual, don't own Castle; ABC does. Just playing with the characters for fun.

# # # # # # # #

 **Chapter 2: Will The Real Svetlana Stand Up?**

Their mouths hanging open, the boys looked at Beckett with blank expressions.

"I'm Svetlana," she repeated firmly, making sure they understood her.

"Nah," said Ryan after a few moments, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yes, I am," Beckett nodded in affirmation.

"But why?" Espo finally blurted out when his brain was capable of thought again. "Are you and Castle having a mid-life crisis?"

"No," Beckett replied, shaking her head. A lie would be so much easier at this point, but she was done with lying.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's complicated, and as soon as I can tell you about it, I will. But for right now, everyone has to believe that Castle and I are separated," she stressed.

Ryan's eyes narrowed as he thought. "But you're not really?"

"No," said Beckett, shaking her head.

"Can I point out that you're still wearing your wedding ring?" Espo asked.

Beckett fingered her ring. "Yeah, I know."

"And that's pretty much a dead give-away," Espo continued. "So the only way someone would think that you're not together is if you fought in public and dated…oh," He stopped as he realized what he was saying.

Beckett nodded.

"Okay," said Ryan, nodding, pressing his lips together and still looking confused. "So what do you want us to do?"

"First, you _**cannot**_ tell anyone what I said in here, not even Lanie and Jenny – absolutely no one can know," Beckett said. "Next, I want you to call Alexis and find out who Castle was meeting with last night. Given the circumstances, I can't do it."

"So you really think he's missing?" Ryan asked.

Beckett nodded slowly and clenched her hands together in an effort to stop them from trembling. Even though they had been so careful, her worst fear had come true. Something had happened to Castle and that was on her. "Yeah, I do, and we have to do this off the books. No one can know."

The boys nodded. "Yeah, okay," they agreed.

"I'll call Alexis and get the information," Ryan volunteered.

"Thanks," Beckett said as her desk phone rang. "I have to get this," she said, looking at the caller ID.

Sometimes being Captain sucked, plus the other thing she was doing…

Ryan and Espo walked out of Beckett's office, shaking their heads, not sure what to make of the situation.

"Man, that is just wrong," said Espo.

"And how come we didn't pick up on it?" Ryan asked as he dialed Alexis' phone number. "Have we gotten soft?"

"Nah," scowled Espo. "Bet Castle is just doing some crazy research."

# # # # # # # #

The group stared silently at the stain on the wall for several minutes.

"Wh—what do we do now?" asked Collins.

"We damn well make sure that doesn't happen again," replied Risner.

The group nodded in agreement.

"But if it does?" asked Maria quietly.

"Intertwine arms," said Felisha suddenly. "If the lights go out, grab ahold of one another and don't let go no matter what."

The group murmured and nodded in assent.

"Now what?" asked Risner.

"We figure out the story – why they took us and what they want," said Castle.

He looked at Maria. "What's the last thing you remember before waking up here?"

"I was walking to the subway to go home after work," she said.

Risner piped in. "I was at a pub having a drink – happy hour – free TV."

Collins frowned as he thought. "I was getting samples for a sales visit."

"I was making last minute changes to a brief," interjected Felisha. "I hadn't left the office yet."

Castle nodded. "And I had gone to see a client and got a flat tire on the way back to town."

He thought a moment. "So was that what you normally did at night?"

"Yeah," said Collins, nodding and then wincing slightly. "I always stop by the office in the evening to restock. I try to see doctors before they make their hospital rounds so I don't have time in the morning."

"I always clean the Bradley building on Tuesday nights," said Maria.

Risner shrugged. "Yeah, most nights I meet my buddies at the bar for a quick round."

"Same bar?" Castle asked quickly.

"Yeah," Risner nodded.

"And I don't have a life outside of work," commented Felisha. "I'm always at the office, so if someone wanted to find me, they could."

"Yeah," the group nodded again.

"What about you?" Collins asked Castle.

Castle frowned as he thought. "That's the 'odd sock.' I don't have a set schedule. You'd have to put a GPS tracker on me to find out where I am most nights."

He let out a frustrated breath – in the past, his schedule revolved around a body drop and Beckett; now it revolved around whatever avoidance method he could come up with to pass the time until whatever this was was over and they were back together. Last night had been no exception.

"Okay," said Castle. "So 'they' knew where and when to find you."

"How does that help us?" asked Felisha.

Castle shook his head. "I don't know yet."

A bell chimed and the group froze and then looked nervously around. A small panel near the floor opened in one of the walls and a box was slid in.

"What do you think that is?" whispered Maria.

Castle sniffed the air. "Food," he said and walked over to the box, kneeling to open it.

There was a smaller box inside for each of them, labeled with their name, and by the smell, Castle was pretty sure his box contained a cheeseburger and fries from Remy's. There was also a drink marked with his name – a strawberry milkshake.

The group slowly opened their boxes and stared at the contents.

"Moo goo gui pan from the Golden Palace," said Felisha. "I had lunch there last Friday."

"Fish and chips from Barkers – that's the pub I go to," said Risner.

"Pastrami on rye from Wolfe's deli," said Collins. "It's by my apartment and they always have an order waiting for me."

"Lamb, artichokes, and mint from Le Cirque," sighed Maria. "I've always wanted to go there."

"Now that's stalkerish creepy," said Castle as he stared at his box. He thought about not eating it, but his rumbling stomach said otherwise.

# # # # # # # #

After finding out the name and address of Castle's client from last night, Ryan and Espo left the precinct by the front door and then stopped several blocks away and waited for Beckett.

A few minutes after they left, she left by the service entrance and made several detours to make sure she wasn't being followed before getting the back seat of their car.

The house was located in Brookhaven, about 50 miles from Manhattan. The modest estate was set back from the road, the driveway lined with a series of stately trees.

Espo pulled into the circular driveway and parked the car to one side.

They had called in advance and the personal assistant was waiting at the front door to welcome them.

"Good day," the woman said pleasantly. "Mrs. Kazankov is expecting you." She led them to a small study off of entrance. "Mrs. Kazankov, Chief Beckett and Detectives Esposito and Ryan are here."

"Thank you, Marie," said Mrs. Kazankov in a slight Russian accent, looking up from the desk she was sitting behind. "Would you mind bringing the tea in here? Thank you."

Espo immediately fell in love when the woman looked up. She was in her early 30's, but looked much younger. Her skin was a flawless cream color, wide eyes blue, dark lashes, with hair of raven locks – maybe she really was Svetlana and Beckett had only come here to check out her competition.

And then his mind jerked to a halt when Mrs. Kazankov stood and waddled around the desk. Oh, definitely not Svetlana – unless Castle was into that…

"Oh, Mrs. Kazankov, you didn't need to get up on our account," Beckett said quickly.

"Sometimes I do, and it's Pola," said Pola with a slight smile as she rubbed her very pregnant belly. "They say you're bigger with your second one."

"You aren't kidding," Ryan muttered under his breath.

Espo shot him a look to shut him up.

"So Mr. Castle contacted you about my case?" Pola asked hopefully as they walked to a settee.

Beckett nodded. "Yes, yes, he did. But he didn't go into a lot of details, and we wanted to get more information."

"Please have a seat," said Pola as she carefully maneuvered herself onto the small couch. She sighed as she sat back.

"Mr. Castle was here last night?" Beckett asked.

"Yes, he was. And he assured me that he would find out if my husband was murdered," Pola said.

"Why do you think someone would murder your husband?" asked Beckett curiously.

"Drugs," Pola said simply. "I think they murdered him because of drugs."

# # # # # # # #


	3. Chapter 3 Trials and Tribulations

**Riddle Me This**

AN: So, for those of you reading, this is my version of Castle being kidnapped and having to play games with other people while Beckett, Espo, and Ryan race to save him (synopsis for episode 12). Not quite sure what the writers are going to do with this one, but it has a lot of good possibilities. This is a little long, but there was a stopping point I wanted to get to before the next chapter.

And thanks once again for all the reviews, favs, and follows – you are rock! And it's Sunday, so we get a Castle episode tonight.

As usual, don't own Castle; ABC does. Just playing with the characters for fun.

# # # # # # # #

 **Chapter 3: Trials and Tribulations**

# # # # # # # #

Even though she knew it hadn't, Beckett felt her heart stop and then start beating double-time as the words left Svetlana's lips. Drugs – had Castle accidentally stumbled on to LocSat? And they had taken him because of it?

"Why type of drugs?" asked Ryan, filling the slack when he noticed Beckett's reaction. "Illegal?"

"Heroin? Opium? Cocaine?" listed Espo.

"No," said Pola as she shook her head. "He was murdered because of Oximetradropine."

"Oxi…?" Ryan said as he tried to write the name of the drug on his notepad.

"Victor was a research scientist at Beckham-Peirpont," Pola said in way of clarification.

"The drug manufacturer," Beckett said, nodding slowly, now engaging as her heart rate was slowing down to normal at that revelation.

Pola nodded in response. "He was working on a fast acting anti-anxiety drug for the military, one that doesn't have the side effects that current anti-anxiety meds have." She stood and started pacing, rubbing her back.

"The military is interested in a drug that soldiers can take if they need to, to calm them before they go into stressful situations," she explained as she walked. "The problem with current anti-anxiety drugs is that they can cause drowsiness, lack of energy, clumsiness, slow reflexes, slurred speech, confusion and disorientation, and depression."

"And that's not helpful in life-threatening conditions," Espo commented.

"No, it's not," said Pola, shaking her head and smiling slightly at Espo. "So BP created Oximetradropine and human testing started last year. It looked very promising, but then subjects started dying during the tests." She paused, the smile now gone.

"How?" prompted Beckett.

"Freak accidents," Pola said as she sat down and looked at Beckett. "The study was a double-blind study. Half of the subjects in a group would be given the drug, and the other half wasn't – they were the control. The entire group was then put in stressful, sometimes dangerous situations, to gage their reactions."

"So why did your husband think something was wrong?" Beckett asked.

"Because the accidents only happened in the group given the drug. Nothing happened to the control group," said Pola. She stood, waddled over to her desk, and picked up a large envelope. "I found this in the safe the other day when I was looking for some papers. When I saw what was inside, I called Mr. Castle."

"What's in here?" Beckett asked as she pulled on her gloves and took the envelope, opening it and taking out the papers.

"The lab work for the subjects in the tests," Pola said. "The way the experiment was structured was that all subjects had base blood work done before the test started, and then they would be put in a stressful situation to gage their responses. They were given a dose of the drug and then put into another stressful situation. Then more blood work was done and they would be put into another stressful situation, and then the final blood work was done."

Beckett nodded as she looked over the paperwork. "We'll give this to our ME to look over, to see if she can find anything."

Pola nodded. "Yes, of course, but I'm an endocrinologist and I can tell you exactly what she'll find – the people who died in the accidents may have heart attacks during the tests." She pointed at one of the lines highlighted in yellow. "See, in the first test, the base blood work is normal and then in the second test, the CK, Tnl, and TnT levels are elevated. Normally, the CK should be 0-3 mcg, the Tnl should be less than 0.35 mcg, and the TnT less than 0.2 mcg."

Beckett shook her head as she studied the test results. "But these are much higher than that."

Pola nodded. "Yes, indicating that the subject was potentially having a heart attack."

Beckett frowned as she looked at one of the highlighted lines. "There's no 3rd blood test on this person."

"No," Pola responded. "Because that's one of the subjects who died during testing. All of the other subjects who died during testing have the similar enzyme levels during the second blood test."

Beckett frowned again as she looked at the paper. "But here's a subject that has the high enzyme levels and they had a third blood test."

Pola shrugged slightly. "That's the nature of research. In any drug test, we expect some significant events to happen."

"You mean like someone dying because of the drug?" asked Ryan.

Pola nodded. "Yes. We hope it doesn't happen, but it's always a possibility. It's only when too many people start having a problem during testing that flags are raised."

"And you think that the accidents were used to cover up those deaths?" Beckett questioned.

"Yes, I do. BP paid funeral expenses for the people who died during testing, and all of them were cremated," Pola responded. "So there is no way to examine them now."

"There aren't any names for the subjects," Beckett said as she flipped through the pages.

"No," said Pola. "The names are sealed, but BP has a record of them because they do follow-up visits to see if there are any after effects."

Beckett nodded. "How did they select the subjects for the tests? Were they company employees?"

"No, that would skew the results," Pola responded. "They needed a random sample, so they placed ads on the web and in magazines, and would select qualifying subjects from the respondents. They had to be in good health and not have ever taken any anti-anxiety medication in the past."

"And you think your husband was killed because of this?" Ryan asked.

"The few deaths due to heart attack that BP reported aren't statistically and clinically significant," Pola responded. "However, when you add the people who died in the accidents to that number, it does become statistically significant and the FDA would have cancelled the human tests. I ran the calculations myself based on the data. BP would have lost millions, if not billions, if they couldn't bring the drug to market."

"But you have no way to prove they died of heart attacks," Beckett stated.

Pola shook her head and looked at her. "No, I don't, and that's why I called Mr. Castle."

"So he was here last night?" Espo asked.

Pola nodded. "Yes, we met about 6:30 and talked for an hour or so. He left shortly after that. I sent him an electronic version of the results."

Beckett nodded and then asked compassionately, "Pola, I know this is hard for you, but can you tell me how your husband died?"

Pola leaned back on the couch wearily, resting her hands on her stomach. "Two months ago, I had taken Nickoli to visit my mother in Florida. She loves the weather there and he wanted to see Mickey Mouse. It was our last vacation before the baby came. Victor couldn't leave because they were in the middle of a test."

She wiped a tear from her eye. "We had just been there a couple of days when the housekeeper called one morning. Victor had a stroke during the middle of the night and died in his sleep."

Beckett paused for a moment before asking, "Was an autopsy performed?"

Pola nodded. "Yes. Victor was healthy – there was no reason for a stroke. And the autopsy didn't find anything."

Beckett nodded, thinking. "Pola, do you know if your husband talked to anyone at BP at his suspicions?"

Pola shook her head. "I don't know. He never said anything. I gave Mr. Castle the names of several people whom he could contact at BP. I wrote them on the envelope for you."

Beckett nodded as her phone chirped. She glanced at it quickly and then stood. "Thank you, Pola. I assure you that we will look into this and find out what happened to your husband."

"Thank you, Captain, Detectives, I appreciate your help," Pola said as she stood up. She suddenly clutched Beckett's hands in hers. "And please, I must know if Victor was murdered because of this. I want justice for him and I will do anything to get that."

Beckett nodded as she freed her hands from the woman's firm grip. "Pola, the only thing I can promise is that we'll do our best to find out what happened."

The personal assistant had shown up magically and was waiting by the study door to escort them out.

"Thank you," Pola said as her young son ran into the room with a gleeful, "Mommy!"

Pola snuggled her son against her and kissed the top of his head as they sat down on the couch.

"So you think Castle got into something over his head?" Ryan asked as they walked to Espo's car.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Espo replied in response.

Beckett shot them a look to quiet them and then glanced at her phone as they got in the car. "I've got a meeting at 1PP in an hour, so can you drop me off a couple of blocks from there?"

The boys nodded in unison.

"Espo, call the police in this area to see if Castle's car broke down after he left last night. If it did, see if you can find someone who saw him," Beckett said.

She quickly dialed a number. "Vikram, can you ping Castle's cell phone and let me know where he is. No, nothing. He was supposed to bring some papers by for me to sign, but he's running late and I don't have time to wait." A pause. "No, I'm not in the office. I'm on my way to 1PP for a meeting."

As Espo drove down the street, the boys looked at each other and shook their heads collectively as Beckett waited for a response.

"It's off?" Beckett replied. "I hate to ask you this, but can you…turn it on remotely? I really need to find him now."

She waited a few more moments. "I see. Thanks." She hung up the phone and thought a few moments. "Vikram can't turn his cell phone on," she said quietly.

"Which means he's someplace without reception or someone took the battery out," said Ryan.

Beckett nodded, looking at the front of the envelope, pressing her lips together before speaking. "Ryan, start with Dr. Kazankov's assistant – Tanya Fellers. She might be able to tell us something."

"Got it," said Ryan as he took the envelope from Beckett. "And don't worry, we'll find him."

Beckett nodded as she looked out of the window, tears starting to form in her eyes. She didn't know what was going on, but she should be out looking for her husband, not sitting in administrative meetings. The Captain's job was quickly losing its appeal.

# # # # # # # #

Castle studied the room as he slowly ate his cheeseburger and half-way listened to the conversation going on around him.

The mood in the room was slowly changing from uncertainty to an almost comfortable comradery as people ate and made small talk.

Maria's oldest son was starting college in the fall. Manuel had several scholarships, but she was working 2 jobs to save money to pay for other expenses that he would incur.

Risner missed the sea and was saving to buy a 35 foot sailboat – his dream was to sail around the world.

Two of the partners at Felisha's previous firm had started their own practice with the blessing of their former partners. Money was tight, the salary not quite what she had at the other firm, but she was head administrative assistant and they had promised to pay for her to go to law school.

Collin's wife was expecting twins in a couple of months and they were going to have to move at some point to a larger house.

Castle paused mid-bite. From what he heard, money – or the lack of it – was a common theme for everyone in the room…except for him. Was that what they had in common? But why would the need for money correlate to what was happening now? He could see it if they all had money and someone was holding them for ransom.

His train of thought was interrupted as one of the walls lit up with a counter that showed 5:00.

The group became attentive as if a predator was sneaking up on them and they were protecting their tribe.

"Riddle me this, ten in a row, that's how you go, answer quickly, never fear, right and wrong shall be here," the metallic voice said.

Castle frowned, shaking his head. "That makes absolutely no sense."

The screen lit up, showing a picture of a diamond and a circle. "What does this represent?" asked the voice. The counter started.

The room paused. "A diamond ring," said Felisha confidently.

The picture changed, showing Mary + Mary.

"Summary," said Castle.

The picture changed to showing four hands doing different gestures.

"It' the one marked C," said Collins. "It's the left hand," he explained. "The others are all right hands."

The screen changed to "A man drove to a hotel and as soon as he got there, he was bankrupt."

"Oh, oh, he was playing Monopoly," said Maria quickly. "And when he rolled the dice, he landed on a property he couldn't afford to pay the rent on." She shrugged slightly. "We don't have cable."

The screen changed to "If it's information that you seek, come see me. If it's pairs of letters you need, I have consecutively three. Who am I?"

Castle nodded after a few moments of thought. "A bookkeeper."

The screen changed again. "Smell me, buy me, and deliver me. I won't change."

"Oh, I know" said Felisha as she spelled out the words. "Scent, cent, and sent."

The screen changed. "What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter."

"That's easy," said Castle. "The gravedigger – Shakespeare."

"Yeah, we got this," said Risner.

The next puzzle showed. "We hurt without moving. We poison without touching. We bear the truth and the lies. We are not to be judged by our size. What are we?"

The group murmured for a few moments until the answer was finally blurted out. "Words!"

The screen changed again. "When is 99 more than 100?"

"Nah, that's not possible," said Collins.

Maria thought a moment and then said quietly. "Yes, it is – a microwave. Most of the time, when you set a microwave to '99,' it runs for 1 minute and 39 seconds. When you set it to '100,' it runs for 1 minute."

"Okay," nodded Collins.

The screen changed. "A man was born on January 1st, 23 BC and died January 2nd, 23 AD. How old did he live to be?"

"45," Castle said quickly. "There is no year 0. But if the culture he was born in starts at age 1 with the person's birth, he'd be 46.

The counter stopped at 0:39 seconds and the group breathed a sigh of relief.

"We did it," someone said.

"We beat it."

"Yeah, we did."

There were handshakes and backslaps.

And then the room descended into chaos as a claxon screamed and strobe lights flashed, disorienting them.

Castle felt his body shake as a taser hit him, stunning him into compliance and a dark bag was pulled over his head.

# # # # # # # #


	4. Chapter 4 What Do You Fear?

**Riddle Me This**

Summary: This is my version of Castle being kidnapped and having to play games with other people while Beckett, Espo, and Ryan race to save him (synopsis for episode 12).

AN: I watched the promo for episode 12 and the writers definitely aren't doing this and they are limited to 42 minutes. Again, thanks for reading and all of the reviews, favs, and follows – you are awesome!

As usual, don't own Castle; ABC does. Just playing with the characters for fun.

# # # # # # # #

 **Chapter 4: What Do You Fear**

# # # # # # # #

 _Flashback - 3 months ago -_

" _Tell me in one word what you fear the most physically?"_

' _Lions and tigers and bears, oh, my,' Castle immediately thought as a snarky response. He then looked at the woman in the lab coat patiently sitting across from him as she waited to type his answer into the computer. He sat back and thought for a moment before answering because really, the mess that his life was in was not her fault._

 _But the more he thought, the more he couldn't come up with an appropriate answer. No one word was powerful enough to explain that what he feared the most was actually occurring in his life right now._

 _His wife, the person whom he thought was the love of his life, had left him before their first anniversary without any explanation – just walked out without looking back, and he had had little contact with her since then._

 _He had spent weeks racking his brain to figure out why she had left and his traitorous gut kept coming back to his conversation with Bracken – that Beckett would always be chasing windmills, that he would never be enough for her, but more importantly, that she was doing something dangerous and didn't trust him to help her, and she had made it perfectly clear by leaving and kicking him out of her life._

 _He felt like his life was spinning out of control as angry waves rolled over him, holding him down so that he couldn't reach the surface, drowning him in a sea of impotence._

 _And then he knew clearly what this reminded him of._

" _Tsunamis," he finally decided on because that not only described his deepest physical fear, but metaphorically described what his life was like right now._

 _\- End of Flashback -_

# # # # # # # #

\- Current Day -

After he collapsed limply on the floor, Castle remembered being manhandled by two gorillas and quickly bound with his hands in front. A blindfold was placed over his eyes and something shoved over his ears that blocked out all sound. He was then lifted off the floor and placed on a cold metallic table, where he was secured again.

Alien abduction, his mind immediately thought, as he felt the table move. Well, it had all the earmarks – his car had broken down at night in a semi-deserted area and he didn't remember anything after that until he had woken up in the room and was forced to undergo tests with other people.

But some terrestrial beings did that also – with the exception of the tests maybe. Two agencies immediately popped into his mind – the agency whose name he never knew that had drugged Beckett and him that night, and the agency that his father worked for that might have been behind his disappearance.

Ouch, he thought as he felt the needle enter his arm – he was so tired of having people take his blood without permission.

He then found himself upright and again being shoved until his back hit something solid.

Castle waited a few moments to make sure he wouldn't be stopped before bringing his still secured hands up to his head and removing the head phones and blindfold, and then stared at the sight that awaited him.

Holy _Hunger Games_ , he thought as he looked around the room.

Five other tubes like the one he was in were set around the room in a circle, each occupied by one member of the group. The clear tubes were tall, but narrow, a little larger than an MRI tube, giving the person inside only enough room to stand and move their arms slightly. A small panel with 2 buttons was at waist level.

Like him, a few in the group had already removed their headsets and blindfolds and were staring at their surroundings. Others in the group were just standing there, not moving.

But what caught his attention, both fascinating and repulsing him at the same time, was what was contained in the top of the tube just a foot away from each person's head.

The compartment over Maria's head was brown, but he could make out movement – roaches – not just any roaches but large roaches – giant roaches, the size of the roaches that he and roommates had raced in the hallway of his first apartment.

He tilted his head back to look up at his tube and saw a clear surface – no, it wasn't clear – it was distorted – as if looking through an aquarium – and he knew immediately what was above him. Water, lots of water – water that could drown him, he thought in a panic before dragging his eyes back down the room.

The compartment over Collin's head was also brown, but it didn't move – dirt perhaps, maybe mud? But based on the amount, it wouldn't be enough to smother him, but Collins couldn't tell this from his perspective.

The compartment over Risner's head contained snakes – some very green, some very brown – but lots of snakes.

What seemed like hundreds of spiders crawled along the inside of the tube over Felisha's head.

And Tanya was back, and the tube over her head was warm and glowing – a fire perhaps – with smoke starting to build.

Tanya pounded on the glass surrounding her to get his attention. "Mr. Castle!" she yelled, her voice muffled.

At least the tubes weren't sound-proof.

"Are you okay?" Castle yelled back at her.

She nodded.

"But there was so much blood," said Felisha, who had removed her mask and head phones by this time.

Tanya nodded, giving a little laugh that ended in a sob and wiping a tear streak off of her face. "When they grabbed me, I elbowed one of them in the nose but it didn't do any good. I've been in here ever since then."

"I have snakes over my head," Risner said, his voice almost too calm, his eyes wide as he looked up. "I hate snakes."

Castle nodded at that confession. "Risner - Risner!" he yelled to get the man's attention. "Look at the snakes – tell me if their heads are round or shaped like a triangle."

"I can't tell," Risner said, shaking his head.

"Yes, you can," said Castle. "Now, look up and tell me."

Risner gulped and looked up again. "I think they're round – like a spoon."

Castle nodded. "Good – they aren't poisonous. They won't hurt you."

"Can anyone get out?" Castle yelled as he pushed against the door on his tube.

"No," the group responded as they each tried but to no avail.

"What's happening?" Maria asked in a scared voice, casting frightened glances at the swarming mass above her. "Why is someone doing this?"

Castle frowned as he tilted his head back and looked at the water above him. "Fear – they want us to be afraid. That's what they've wanted all along." A memory that he couldn't place started tickling the back of his mind.

"Yeah, and it's working," said Felisha. "Spiders creep me out with all their little glowing eyes," she said with a shiver as she snuck a glance above her head.

"What's above me? I can't see anything," said Collins.

"Dirt – or mud," replied Castle. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"Yeah," nodded Collins. "When I was a kid, we went to the beach and my brother and I built a tunnel. It collapsed and I was trapped inside for several minutes before I was rescued – those were the longest minutes of my life."

"And I hate roaches," Maria said. "In some of the buildings that I clean, they are so big they could carry you off."

Castle nodded again, his brain desperately trying to make a connection between the objects and the fears. "So this would be common knowledge?"

"Oh, yes," said Felisha. "Last Halloween, my fiancé played a trick on me and put a fake spider in my shoe. He wound up with a black eye when I kicked it off and it hit him in the face."

"What about you, Mr. Castle," asked Tanya. "Are you afraid of water?"

Castle shook his head as he looked up, frowning. That didn't make any sense. "No, I'm not."

He was about to say something else when a low hum caught his attention and he felt the tube around him start to vibrate slightly. He looked up and saw a small swirl beginning to form as the water above him started to churn.

At the same time, the objects in the other tubes started moving more rapidly as if being spurred on.

The metallic voice rang out, "Left for self, right for might. Time given, time removed. Play together and all shall win. But save yourself if you must, while the others turn to dust."

Timers at the base of each tube lit up, displaying 5:00, while the buttons on the control panels lit up.

"What does that mean?" asked Maria timidly.

The monitor in the middle of the room displayed '1 1 2…' and the metallic voice said, "Complete the sequence."

"Four," said Collins but the timer kept ticking down. "What the—"

"The buttons!" shouted Castle. "Press the button."

"Which one?" Collins shouted back.

"Right for might—" said Castle. "The right one."

Collins pushed the button and the timers stopped at 4:45. "So what do you think the left button does?" he asked.

The monitor changed to show a hippopotamus, a bird, and the number 2. "Complete the sequence," said the metallic voice.

Felisha half-way snorted. "That's easy – ewe. Hippo birdie 2 ewe – happy birthday to you." She pressed the right button and the timers stopped at 4:40.

"Good, good," said Risner.

The metallic voice started again. "What comes next in the sequence… S…"

The timers counted down and the noise above them became louder.

"E!" yelled Tanya. "Eight! They're the numbers one through seven."

She pushed a button and then pulled her hand back as if shocked. "Oh – I'm so sorry – I pressed the left button."

The timers stopped at 4:15, and then changed, Tanya's going back to 5:00, the rest of the timers dropping to 3:30.

"Damn," swore Risner.

"Now we know what the left button does," said Felisha.

The metallic voice began again. "Complete the sequence."

The letter appeared on the monitor and the group started shouting answers at each other.

Staring at the water above him as it swirled faster and faster, Castle ignored them as he tried to make sense of what was going on. There was something he was missing.

He looked down at the grate he was standing on and saw the nozzles pointed up at him. He was going to get very wet in about 3 minutes. Not just wet, but drenched, battered, bruised, and possibly drowned – almost if he was stuck in whirlpool. No, not a whirlpool – a tsunami.

Castle stiffened – he wasn't afraid of the water, but he was afraid of tsunamis. And Beckett was the only other person who knew that because whoever had kidnapped him certainly didn't based on where they had set up the tent.

But what did that matter? His brain tingled again.

No, he had told someone else that – that woman last December when he applied to be part of a drug trial. Was it that simple? He had all but forgotten about it when they didn't contact him.

Castle looked out into the room as the timers counted down and realized he had 1 of 2 choices – he could keep playing and be stuck in a tsunami, or he could try to escape the tube and rescue the others before the timers ran out.

He looked at the bottom of his tube and made a decision.

When he had baby proofed the house after Alexis was born, he had become an expert on what it took to anchor items securely so they couldn't tip over. The tube didn't have a bottom and would be top heavy with the weight of the water. The bolts connecting the tube to the grate weren't particularly long, definitely not long enough to keep the tube from tipping over if he applied the correct amount of force.

Yeah, he could do this.

Castle looked at the timers again – most of them were down to 3:15 – and put his hands on either side of the tube and began rocking back and forth.

"Mr. Castle!" Tanya yelled at him as she watched him. "What are you doing?"

"Keep playing!" he yelled at them as he rocked the tube and felt it move slightly. "The water makes the tube top-heavy. I may be able to tip it over."

"Hey, I can do the same thing," said Risner.

"No, no!" said Castle, rocking the tube again. "There's not enough weight on top of your tube and we don't want the snakes to get out."

"Oh, good point," said Risner.

"But we're supposed to be solving the puzzles," Tanya yelled.

"This is the puzzle," said Castle as he rocked the tube harder, feeling it move more this time as the water sloshed on the floor.

A couple of good shoves should do it, he thought as he felt the tube move even more. One more time…and then there was a crack and the tube was tipping over.

As he was caught in the movement that felt like distorted version of an amusement ride, his adult voice commented calmly, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."

# # # # # # # #


	5. Ch 5 All It Takes Is a Little Teamwork

**Riddle Me This**

Summary: This is my version of Castle being kidnapped and having to play games with other people while Beckett, Espo, and Ryan race to save him (synopsis for episode 12).

AN: Sorry – I fixed the flashback in Chapter 4 so that it looks like a flashback. If I was filming it, it would be in that sepia color they are using when things are off-kilter, or maybe even in black and white. Thanks again for reading and the reviews.

As usual, don't own Castle; ABC does. Just playing with the characters for fun.

# # # # # # # #

 **Chapter 5: All It Takes Is a Little Teamwork**

# # # # # # # #

By the time Beckett walked into the precinct after her meeting at 1PP, the boys had read all of the files that Alexis had sent them.

Dr. Kazankov had been very thorough in his research and Pola had emailed Castle everything that he had found. Not only did they have names, they had the manner of death for those volunteers who had died during testing, the lab tests, and the person in charge running each test.

"Look at this," said Ryan, handing Beckett a page. "Most of the people who died during the test were in a water hazard. The reports blame their deaths on an electrical problem, but when you compare the lab results, all of them had the elevated enzyme levels."

"We've contacted several of the families. The victims didn't have any known heart problems," said Espo. "And Lanie's looked over the lab results. She agrees with Kazankov."

Beckett nodded. "Have you been able to contact Tanya Fellers?"

Ryan shook his head. "No, her office said she's on a mission trip and can't be reached by phone. She won't be back until next week."

"It's going to take more than this to get a court order, so let's see if we can find someone else to talk to," said Beckett.

Ryan nodded as he picked up the envelope that had the names written on it. "That would be Bryan Sill, Tanya's supervisor." He picked up another piece of paper. "And he also signed off on most of the tests."

"Sounds like a person of interest to me," said Beckett. "Let's bring him in."

"Got it," said Ryan as he made the call. His frown deepened as he ended the call. "BP said he was in an off-site meeting."

"And that may be here," said Epso as he picked up a piece of paper that had a map on it with a large arrow pointing to a location. "It's one of their large warehouses. The schedule for testing that Kazankov included listed today's date."

"Then let's go pay them a visit, gentlemen," Beckett replied.

# # # # # # # #

Castle lay still for a minute, making sure he was in one piece before he scrambled up, slipping slightly on the water and broken safety glass, as he headed towards the tube closest to him.

"Mr. Castle!" Tanya yelled. "What are you doing?!"

"Saving you!" Castle yelled back as he opened the door to Felisha's tube as the timers reached 0:45. "Get Risner and Collins," he said to her as he closed the door and headed over to the other 3 tubes.

The other members of the group were quickly released from their tubes and made sure their doors were secured before moving away from them.

"Why did you do that?" Tanya exclaimed as she looked at Castle. "You ruined everything."

Castle stared at her and then nodded as if coming to a realization. "Tanya Fellers – you should have used a fake name. You're not an art student – you're Dr. Kazankov's assistant."

Castle looked at the group. "Did any of you apply to be part of an experimental drug test in the last couple of months?"

"Yeah, I've done it several times," shrugged Risner. "It's a sweet deal if you can get it. This one was paying $1000 for 12 hours of your time whether or not they accepted you."

The rest of the group nodded.

"Well, welcome to the test," Castle quipped sarcastically. He looked back at Tanya. "Except it's not quite as innocuous as it seems, is it?"

"I don't know what you mean," said Tanya, looking confused.

"When Dr. Kazankov found out that people were dying from the drug, he called you to tell you about his suspicions," Castle stated.

The group started murmuring. "What?" "Dying?" "They didn't mention it was harmful."

Tanya shook her head. "No, no, he didn't call me."

"Funny, considering his call log shows that he called your phone 2 days before he died – or should I say before you murdered him," Castle said.

"No," said Tanya, shaking her head. "I was out of the country during that time. He must have called my company phone. I gave it to the department supervisor before I left and he said that he accidentally dropped it in the toilet. I didn't ask for it back."

"Who did you give the phone to?" Castle demanded.

Tanya's eyes widened. "Bryan Sill – and he's running this test."

Suddenly the flame on the top of the tube that Tanya had been in flared, sending a bright flame towards the ceiling.

Tanya ran over to the door to the hallway and pressed her palm against the control panel. "It's not working!" she yelled. "I can't open the door!"

Suddenly being drenched in water didn't sound like such a bad idea, thought Castle.

Felisha grabbed his arm and pointed. "I think that line has a valve on it. If I can get up there, I can turn it off."

"Good," Castle nodded. He looked at the group. "Risner, help her get up there. Collins, help me get this door open."

He thought for a moment. "Maria, there are nozzles in the floor where I was standing – see if you can get the water on. We may need it to put the fire out."

The group quickly moved to their assignments as Castle looked around the room to see if there was anything he could use to pry the door open.

# # # # # # # #

The single-level warehouse was on the outskirts of the city, the parking lot empty, when the trio drove up.

"NYPD!" Beckett yelled as she banged on the front door and then tried to open it but found it was locked. "Is there anyone here?! Hello!" she yelled, banging on the door again.

While she was doing that, Espo and Ryan had walked around to the back of the building. They arrived back at the front almost at the same time.

"No sign of anyone," said Ryan.

Beckett was about to say something when a car pulled into the parking lot and parked near the front door.

"Hey, I got your usual order," a man said as he got out of the car and pulled a large food delivery bag out of the back seat.

Beckett flashed her badge.

"Oh, you're not with BP?" the man asked.

"No, we're" said Beckett.

"Okay," said the man as he pulled out his phone and dialed the number listed on the order.

They could hear a phone ringing inside, but the call finally went to voice mail. The man tried the phone number again with the same results.

"Ah, dammit, corporate's not going to be pleased about this," he said.

"How often do you deliver here?" Beckett asked him as Ryan wrote down the phone number that he had just called.

"At least once a week, sometimes twice a week, for the past 6 months," the man answered.

"And they've always been here?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah – guess they forgot to cancel," said the man, nodding. "Excuse me, I gotta call this in," he said, picking up the bag and walking to his car.

Ryan looked at Beckett. "I got a match on that phone number – it belongs to Bryan Sill."

"Tanya's supervisor," Beckett nodded. "Get a BOLO out on him. And let's get a unit to sit out here to see if anyone shows up."

She turned to look at the door again. This just didn't feel right, she thought and quickly made a decision. "Better yet – get the tire iron out of the car and let's get this door open. The man ordered lunch and isn't answering his phone – he could be incapacitated and needs help," she reasoned.

Espo nodded and went to retrieve the tire iron.

They quickly popped the door open and walked inside.

"NYPD!" Beckett yelled again as she looked around. "Is anyone here?"

She slid on her gloves and bent down to pick up the phone lying partially under a receptionist's desk. "Looks like whoever was here left in a hurry."

Beckett stood and paused a moment. "Do you hear that?" she asked, turning as she searched for the direction that the faint noise emanated from.

They pulled their guns out as they quietly ran down the hallway in the direction the sound was coming from.

"NYPD!" Beckett said as they reached the door. "Come out with your hands up!"

"Beckett!" came a voice from behind the door. "Is that you?" yelled Castle.

"Yes, it's me!" yelled Beckett in response.

"We can't pop the lock," Castle yelled back, "so we took the pins holding the hinges out."

"Stand back," yelled Espo. "We've got this."

"Yeah, but hurry – the ceiling is smoking!" yelled Castle.

Espo and Ryan both shoved on the hinge side of the door at the same time and it gave way slightly, enough to give the group on the other side room to pry it the rest of the way open, while Beckett called 911.

"We'll get them out," said Espo as the members of the group quickly left the room and stood in the hallway.

"That way, you can…do whatever," finished Ryan.

The boys quickly guided the group down the hallway to the front door as Beckett threw her arms around Castle.

"I thought I'd lost you," she whispered in his ear.

"Not a chance," Castle replied as he hugged her back.

She pulled back to smile at him and then frowned as she looked at her hands. "Is this blood? Castle, are you bleeding?"

"Oh, yeah – just a little," he responded. His back was starting to burn now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

# # # # # # # #


	6. Chapter 6 Tilting at Windmills

**Riddle Me This**

Summary: This is my version of Castle being kidnapped and having to play games with other people while Beckett, Espo, and Ryan race to save him (synopsis for episode 12).

AN: And yes, this won't happen this fast in real life, but this is fanfic and I didn't want to drag it out. Once again, we come to the end of the story. And I'm trying to keep this in canon. Thanks again for reading and the reviews.

As usual, don't own Castle; ABC does. Just playing with the characters for fun.

# # # # # # # #

 **Chapter 6: Tilting at Windmills**

# # # # # # # #

"How bad is it?" Castle asked after Beckett turned him around to look at his back.

"Oh, not that bad," Beckett lied, grimacing as she looked at his left shoulder blade.

That area must have taken the full impact of his weight and, while broken safety glass wouldn't impale you, it could still play havoc. The littler pieces of broken glass clung to his shirt, the bigger pieces shredding the material and embedding themselves in his flesh.

"Just a couple of band aids and you'll be fine," Beckett said.

"Only if you play naught nurse," Castle said.

"Yeah, but first, we have to get out of here," said Beckett, grabbing his hand and rushing towards the front of the building.

Just before they reached the front office, Beckett stopped suddenly and turned, pulling Castle in for another kiss. Reality was about to intrude on them once again.

"Rick, I love you," she whispered, closing her eyes and pressing their foreheads together as she clung to him. "I'm sorry – I am so sorry."

They stood like that for a few seconds until the sound of sirens broke the moment.

"It's okay," Castle said, pulling back and looking at her with a slight smile. "Go do what you have to do."

Beckett nodded, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes.

As they rushed out of the front of the building, she spotted Espo and Ryan talking to the members of the group.

"Ryan," she called. "I need you to get an EMT to look at Castle and then take his statement."

The detective nodded as he walked over to where they stood. "Sure thing, Captain."

"You and Espoito finish up here," she continued. "I'm going back to the precinct to start the paperwork on a search warrant for Bryan Sill's office and residence."

"Right," said Ryan as he took out his pad and pen and started asking Castle questions.

As Beckett walked towards a squad car to catch a ride, she pulled out her phone. "Hey, Lanie, I need a favor."

# # # # # # # #

Ryan took Castle's statement at the same time the EMT assessed him and then decided that he needed to go to the ER to have the pieces of glass removed. They had brought out a gurney and were insisting that Castle lay on it for the trip, while he was pointing out the problems with that, when two black town cars pulled up and several suits got out.

One of the men in a crisp, hand-tailored suit talked to a policeman for a moment before heading over to where Espo, Ryan, and Castle stood with curious expressions on their faces.

"Gentlemen," he said, "I'm Mr. Merle Peterson, VP of Research at BP. We at BP are all shocked by Dr. Sill's actions and I assure you that you will have our complete cooperation in your investigation."

"That's good to know," said Ryan, nodding, trying to keep a straight face.

"I was wondering if I could talk to the unfortunate…volunteers for a minute? We want to make sure they're okay," Peterson continued.

"I bet you do," Espo said under his breath.

Ryan and Espo looked at Castle, who nodded at them.

The group was quickly rounded up and herded towards the black town cars where Peterson introduced himself again.

"I can't tell you how shocked I am that Dr. Sill would be involved in Dr. Kazankov's murder, but I assure you that we'll get to the bottom of it," Peterson said. "And I personally wanted to make sure that all of you are all right and that you are well compensated for your pain and suffering during this horrible ordeal."

"The experiment or the fact that Dr. Sill tried to kill us?" asked Castle.

Peterson frowned at him as if not understanding the question and then continued, "BP is prepared at this time to offer each of you $100,000."

At that, one of the suits opened her briefcase and pulled out envelopes, handing one to each member of the group.

"What's the catch?" asked Risner.

"All we ask is that you sign a non-disclosure statement, stating that you will not talk to anyone about what happened outside of what the police might ask you in regards as to Dr. Sill's involvement," Peterson stated matter-of-factly.

"You mean, not tell the FDA about the inhumane experiments you're doing?" Castle said.

"Well, all of you did sign a release that specifically stated that, if chosen for the experiment, you might be subject to stressful situations," Peterson countered.

"You call that stressful?" said Castle. "I didn't know where I was or what was going on – if I was going to be killed or not."

"We try to make the situation as real as possible—" said Peterson.

"For what – a war?" Castle replied.

"Anyway," Peterson said, ignoring him, "this is a one-time offer and all of you must sign, or no one gets the money."

Castle frowned at the man and then looked at the group. "I'll do you one better. I'll give each of you $200,000 to report BP to the FDA," he told the group. "Except for you," he said to Tanya. "You work for them."

Felisha wrinkled her nose. "I'm afraid you can't do that, Mr. Castle," she said. "That could be construed as buying someone's testimony."

Castle's frowned deepened. "But that's what they're doing," he said.

Felisha nodded. "Yeah, but they can do it legally."

"That's not fair," said Castle, letting out a disgusted huff.

Peterson looked at the group with a sympathetic expression. "$100,000 and your signature. That's all it takes."

Collins looked at the envelope in his hands. "This sure would come in handy," he commented.

Both Risner and Felisha nodded. "Yeah, it would."

"Is that what you want?" Castle asked the group.

"No," said Maria finally and handed her envelope back to Peterson. "Mr. Castle is right. I wouldn't wish what happened to us on my worst enemy. I wasn't sure if I was going to see my children again or not."

"Are you sure?" prompted Peterson. "This would go a long way to paying for your son's college education."

Maria stood her ground. "I'm absolutely sure," she said. "No – I will not take your money nor will I sign a statement."

The rest of the group looked at them and then also nodded and handed the envelopes back.

"Very well then. You don't know what you're passing up," Peterson threatened. "What difference do the 5 of you think you're going to make?"

"Oh, I think they do," said Castle. "And the difference is that I know some of the people on the BP Board of Directors, and after I finish telling them what happened here, you'll be lucky to be cleaning toilets there."

Peterson scowled at him and then got back into the car and the rest of the suits followed suite.

"What was that all about?" asked Ryan as Castle walked up to them.

"Oh, just some old-fashion tilting at windmills," Castle said. He looked at the EMTs in mock defeat. "I'm all yours. Take me away."

# # # # # # # #

Castle sat on the bed in the ER room, swinging his legs and wishing he had his phone with him. It hadn't been found yet, so he was sure he'd had to buy a new one. With the number of phones he had lost or that had been destroyed, maybe there was a frequent buyer plan he could enroll in.

He looked up, eye brows lifting high in surprise, as Lanie walked into the room, a chart in her hands.

"Dr. Parish, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked and then stopped. "I'm not dying, am I? Ryan said that the drug could cause heart attacks in some people."

"No," said the ME, shaking her head with a smirk on her face. "You'll be fine. It turns out that they didn't give you drug – you and Maria Consuela were the control group."

"Really?" Castle asked in surprise and then nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Good for her."

He looked back at Lanie. "Then why are you here?"

"Just taking care of my writer boy," Lanie said as she walked behind him and opened the gown and h'mmed.

"What?" Castle asked. "Is it bad?"

"Seen worse," she said. "I'll need to remove the glass and it looks like nothing will need stitches. So let's get you into the operating room."

"The operating rooms?" Castle asked in a semi-high pitched voice. "Is that really necessary?"

Lanie nodded. "Sterile environment – don't want the wounds to get infected. If it bothers you, I can do it under general anesthesia or give you a local."

"A local will be fine. I'm so done with being knocked out," Castle said drily.

"Make yourself comfortable and I'll get an orderly to come get you in a minute," Lanie said as she patted his leg.

# # # # # # # #

The operating room was cold and sterile, four big lights aimed at the table in the middle.

Castle got out of the wheelchair and then lay down on his stomach on the table, his head nestled in his arms, and waited for Lanie to come in.

She walked in shortly with a nurse in tow, both wearing masks.

"So, how are we doing?" she asked. "I'm going to give you some shots to numb your back. They might sting a little. Nurse, will you monitor Mr. Castle's vitals and let me know if there is any change?"

The nurse nodded and moved to the head of the table.

"Ready?" asked Lanie.

"Yeah, do your worst," Castle replied and then frowned as he felt slender fingers wrap around his wrist. He tilted his head up to look at the nurse and tried not to smile as green eyes smiled back at him.

The nurse leaned over and whispered, "Just wait until you see my naughty nurse outfit."

# # # # # # # #

Later that night, Castle stood shirtless in the bathroom, back to the mirror, craning his head around to look at the bandage on his back and let out a sigh. Before he left the hospital, Lanie had given him strict instructions to put antibiotics on the area twice a day and then cover it with a bandage for at least 5 days.

But he couldn't quite reach the area by himself and he certainly wasn't going to ask his mother or Alexis to do it. He frowned as he pursed his lips. He could probably talk Lanie into doing it or go to an urgent care clinic to have them do it.

Sometimes it sucked being the only one at home.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Beckett asked from the doorway.

Castle turned to her with a wistful smile. "Better now that you're here."

"I came as soon as I could. We picked up Sill this evening at JFK. He was trying to leave the country," Beckett said as she walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him. She leaned against his chest and took several deep breaths. "I thought I had lost you again."

Castle nodded. "I thought I'd lost me too." He kissed her head. "Are you hungry? I've got leftovers."

"Yeah, it's been a long day," Beckett said.

Castle shrugged on a t-shirt and they walked into the kitchen.

Beckett watched while he pulled the Chinese food he had ordered when he had gotten home out of the refrigerator.

"So, you signed up to be part of an experimental drug test?" she finally asked.

Castle nodded. "Yeah, I did. Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"And you didn't think to talk to me about it?" Beckett asked curiously.

Castle stopped and took a deep breath before looking at Beckett. "You weren't here. You'd left without any explanation and I couldn't figure out why. Alexis was in California visiting her mother. So I thought this would be a way to help someone and take my mind off of my problems. I just didn't expect it to turn out the way it did."

Beckett walked around the island and hugged him. "Rick, I'm sorry."

Castle nodded as he hugged her back. "I know."

"We'll get there," Beckett said. "It may just take some time."

"I know," said Castle, giving her a squeeze before he let her go. "Anyway, something good came out of this – a great feature article about illegal testing by big drug companies."

"So you're going to become a Rook?" Beckett asked, switching back to a safer subject.

Castle shook his head. "No, Maria's son is interested in becoming an investigative reporter, so I pitched him the idea." He handed her a plate. "Besides, I plan on doing Nikki Heat for quite a while."

"Good," said Beckett. "And I'll be here tomorrow morning to do your back after you do Nikki Heat."

Castle nodded and then studied Beckett. "So you must have told Ryan, Espo, and Lanie who Svetlana and Dr. Livingstone are. How'd they take the news?"

# # # # # # # #

The End


End file.
